Chances
by LSpencer
Summary: Laura's entrance into Luke and Tracy's sudden engagement party was only the beginning of the adventure.
1. The Haunted Star

As she descended the stairs, Laura felt the pit in her stomach growing. She had caught the tail end of Luke's toast, and would be lying if she didn't admit it hurt.

Okay, so maybe it hurt a lot, but she didn't have a lot of time to overanalyze the situation.

Luke paused, his face dropping, as she faced his guests.

"Mom?" Lulu set down the champagne flute in her hand to reach for Laura, and Laura accepted the hug easily. "What on Earth are you doing here?"

Laura dropped her arms, taking a quick inhale to steady herself.

"I'd like to know that myself," Tracy said, her eyes narrowing. Luke put a hand on her shoulder, setting down his own flute. Laura wondered if he should have been drinking, but didn't let the issue linger in her mind.

"I apologize for intruding," Laura said, catching the words in her teeth before releasing. She looked past Tracy to Luke, and lifted an eyebrow. "Can we talk?"

"Talk about what?" Tracy stepped towards Laura, her head held high with her shoulders squared. "Because if this is yet another attempt to drag Luke back into your storied past, don't bother. Your relationship has been rehashed, recounted, and regurgitated far too many times. Luke and I are looking toward the future. In fact, this is our engagement party."

The venom in Tracy's voice grew centerfold, and Luke's expression shifted, his confusion being replaced with gentle frustration.

"Believe me, Tracy, I know where I am welcome," Laura said, focusing on Tracy. There was a pause, as the women continued to stare each other down.

"Mom, please don't take this the wrong way. I love you, and I'm glad to see you," Lulu said, looking between the women. She stepped closer to Laura. "But has something happened? Are you on the verge of another relapse?"

"Oh, honey, I'm fine, really. I just wanted to stop by and wish your father and Tracy well," Laura said, touching her daughter's shoulder, and giving a gentle rub. "After all, he's getting remarried, right? He's so lucky to have found someone to share his life with."

As her smile came across, Laura hoped her emphasis on the word 'lucky' was enough to trigger their old code.

The rest of the people in the room, including Carly and Sonny, didn't appear any wiser. Laura didn't want to wager a guess as to why Scott was there. "There's no doubt in my mind, he'll whisk her off to some beautiful honeymoon, and we'll be lucky if we ever see him again, am I right?"

She looked to Luke, their eyes locking. It wasn't the time for tears. His expression shifted again, and he put an arm around Tracy's shoulders. He then kissed the side of Tracy's head, and smiled.

"Pumpkin, I'm a little more exhausted than I thought, do you mind if we cut this shindig short?"

Tracy's arm rested across his back, as her voice lowered. It was softer than Laura ever could remember the elder Quartermaine using. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

"It is," Luke said. "Show our guests out, and have the car pulled around. I'll be ready to go by the time you get back."

Tracy's eyes narrowed at Laura.

"I'll help you, Tracy." Lulu piped in, and Laura was never more grateful for her daughter's somewhat naïveté. She offered a small smile at Lulu, catching a familiar look in Luke's eye.

Scott walked past with his hand in the small of Bobbie's back. Laura felt the bile growing in her throat.

The room cleared, and Luke watched everyone exit before he spoke. Laura found she couldn't look at him, the embarrassment of walking in on his and Tracy's engagement party stronger than she had hoped.

"So—" Luke said, clearing his throat. He then licked his bottom lip, before full on staring at her. "Nice job. It's been a long time since I've had to decipher one of your codes. I almost believed what you were saying."

Luke looked at his watch. "I've cleared the room, and we have roughly three minutes before Tracy comes back. We'll need to make this quick. Something's happened to Lucky?"

Laura felt the burden of Lucky against her chest lift. "He was staying with me in Paris. I came home one day from the clinic, the flat was trashed, and Lucky was nowhere to be found."

"You're sure the two are correlated?"

Laura shook her head. "I highly doubt anything I've done recently would cause my home to be turned upside down and our son taken away."

Luke sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Laura noticed the sudden weariness to his features, the dull of his generally brilliant silver hair.

"Then we'll have to assume its something you've done that isn't recent."

Tracy reentered the lounge, and Laura had to give Luke credit. Three minutes had been a pretty accurate assessment.

"Good, I see you're both still here," Tracy said, descending the steps. "That's a first in this town. When things happen, you two have a habit of wandering off. By land, by sea, by Cassadine."

"Tracy—"

"No, Luke, I want to know why your ex-wife barged in here during our engagement party and you kowtowed and dismissed everyone. Yeah, don't think I don't notice the way you two 'communicated' from across the room." Stepping between Luke and Laura, Tracy made air quotes with her hands. "Even I can see through the disgusting remnants of your co-dependency."

"Tracy, our son is missing," Luke said, and Laura's head tilted. She had expected a lot of things, but for Luke to blurt out why she was there was not one of them. Tracy's face scrunched, and then softened.

"What?"

"Someone nabbed Lucky at Laura's place in Paris, and we don't know why. That's why Laura's here."

Tracy turned to Laura.

"Why didn't you say that to begin with?"

"You think I want to announce our son's disappearance in front of a room of people? You may be his fiancée, but you're nothing to me," Laura replied, her annoyance growing.

Luke glared at both of them.

"The important thing is that we figure out who took Lucky, and then we figure out how to get him back," Luke said. "For everyone's sake, I hope we're not dealing with any more long lost Cassadines."

"Are there any of them left?" Tracy looked to Luke. "Last I heard, after your recent escapades, the Dragon Queen was roaming Port Charles like an invisible Cruella DeVille."

"Yeah, she's out there," Luke said. "But, I don't think Helena would stoop to taking Lucky again. She doesn't act out of spite. She calculates as part of a much bigger game."

"I know after what happened with Lesley Lu that Nikolas keeps fairly decent tabs on his grandmother," Laura said, leaning to one side while crossing her arms. "He would have called me if Helena had made any strange moves."

"Alright, let's say we give Nikolas the benefit of the doubt, and count the Cassadines out, who else does that leave?" Tracy asked.

"The other 98% of the planet," Luke said, with a sigh. "Mobsters, loan sharks, double agents, enraged one-eyed monsters. You name it, we've encountered it in one form or another."

"Ahh yes, the curse of being Luke and Laura, humanity's greatest superheroes," Tracy said. There was another moment of silence, as her left hand drifted down Luke's right arm. "Tell me what you need, husband."

"I need a clue, wife," Luke said, trying to give a small smile. "And, about eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. I wasn't exactly lying when I said I was a little more tired than I expected."

"I think rest is a good idea," Tracy said. "We can start looking for Lucky first thing in the morning with fresh eyes. I'll call some people."

"No," Laura said. "No one else, for right now."

"Why not?" Tracy asked.

"Because everyone we've ever encountered doesn't look well on law enforcement," Laura said.

"Including the Parisian authorities?" Tracy asked, to which Laura shrugged. Tracy turned to Luke. "You two aren't an item anymore, which means more people are exposed to your harried past. Do I need to start making phone calls to make sure my children are safe?"

"I'm sure you don't," Luke said, looking to Laura. The look in his eyes now was a familiar one, reassuring with a slight bit of concern. "We'll find him, Laura. I promise."

"I, uh, have booked a room at the Metro Court in the short term. If either of you need me," Laura said, once again feeling the words catch in her teeth. Olive branches were far too hard to come by right now, but she was going to do her damnedest to extend one.

Even in the worst of times.


	2. Metro Court

Her phone had beeped several times since she had entered her room, but Laura had made it a point to ignore her daughter's persistent voicemails. She paced back and forth several times, rubbing her forehead. Tracy's scowl held firm in her mind, but Laura had to think that going to Luke was the right thing to do.

Laura looked to the dark suitcase sitting in the middle of the bed. She hadn't been in the room but a moment before going tearing off for the Haunted Star. It wasn't a terrible idea to try and freshen up. With that in mind, she moved towards her suitcase.

Two heavy knocks came at the door, and Laura set down the clothes in her hand.

"Laura—Laura, open up, it's me." Luke's voice sounded stronger than it had earlier, and Laura hoped Tracy wasn't lurking behind him. She opened the door, and took a step back, as her ex-husband walked past.

"I'm surprised to see you," she said, closing the door. "I thought for sure I wouldn't see you until tomorrow. You know, with how tired you appeared to be earlier."

"My mind's been going a mile a minute," he said.

"Mine too," Laura said, taking a step closer to him. His features drooped, as she tilted her head, and touched his cheek. "But you told me we'd find Lucky, and I tend to believe you against my better judgment."

With a small smile, Luke turned inwardly, his rough lips brushing her palm. Laura dropped her hand.

"I ruined your party," she said.

"You did," he said. "But, in all honesty, I probably fouled things up by having it in the first place. I rushed things."

"I'm not the one you should be explaining that to, Luke," she said, moving towards the bed. She unzipped and pulled at one shoe, letting the shoe hit the floor. "That's the point of being the ex-wife rather than the wife."

Luke sat next to her, as she unzipped and pulled off the other shoe. She could feel the proximity of his closeness, and in another time, would have rested her cheek on his shoulder without so much as a second thought.

Laura stood, and turned to face him.

"Why are you here, truly?" she asked. Luke looked up, and Laura felt his eyes melting her resolve.

"It's been a long time." His voice lowered.

"So, it has." Laura rested both palms against her lower back. Luke pulled a buzzing mobile from his pocket, sharing an annoyed glance with Laura before answering.

"Yeah—Hey Sweet Pea, yeah, I've talked to your mother. She's fine. No, I said she's fine, Lulu. No, I don't think you need to worry about her. Yes, I'll tell her when I see her. I promise, I'll make sure she calls you back. I gotta go. Love you. Bye."

Luke tossed the phone to the side.

"Is she alright?"

"Her mother showed up out of the blue, disrupted a festive gathering, and she doesn't have any details. How do you think she is? We're both worried."

"About Lucky?"

"About both of you," Luke stood. "Hell, about all of us. It's been a rough year, and we both haven't always played with both decks."

Luke's voice paused before saying, "Lucky is missing, right?"

"Do you honestly believe I would fly thousands of miles across the ocean to what, break up your little party with a fake kidnapping?" Laura's voice tensed, only halfway to its snapping point. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I wanted to be sure."

"Sure that this trip was about Lucky and less about you and Tracy? I was in Paris. How would I have known about you two beforehand?" Laura raised an eyebrow, and Luke looked away.

There was a knock at the door. Laura rolled her eyes before moving to answer.

"Well, well, looks like I'm a little late to the party," Scott said, sneering. He stepped forward into the hotel room, and looked to his ex-wife. "Laura, always a pleasure."

"Scotty," Laura said.

"What the hell do you want?" Luke asked.

"Straight the point per usual, Spencer." Scott pulled a manila envelope from his pocket, and held it out to Laura. "I figured if I haggled the front desk receptionist long enough, he'd crack and give me your room number. I also figured I'd find the two of you together. Looks like I wasn't wrong on either account."

As the envelope was opened, several 8x10 color pictures were pulled out. Laura put her hand over her mouth, but didn't gasp. She handed the pictures and envelope to Luke.

"Where did you get these?" Laura asked.

"When I got home from the party, they were sitting on my doorstep. I wouldn't have opened them, but they weren't labeled or anything. They look pretty serious."

"And you didn't get a name or a face?" Luke asked, shuffling through the pictures. Pictures of both of his sons bound and gagged on a cement floor now filled Luke's vision, and Laura watched his brain click into gear like old times.

"I didn't see anyone."

"Okay, but why would someone send you these?" Laura asked. Before Scott could answer, Luke supplied an answer of his own.

"They probably thought he could be useful and complete the cycle," Luke said. "He'd run to you, and you'd run to me. Saved the kidnappers a trip and minimized our lead time."

"He's right, Laura," Scott said.

Laura took the photos, and as she shuffled through, Lucky filled her thoughts. Tears of sudden hot anger sat at the corner of her eyes, waiting for permission to fall.

Laura's phone buzzed from across the room, and Luke reached the device first. Laura nodded to answer. Only instead of answering, he took a deep sigh, swiping several times. She wiped at her eyes, and didn't bother to ask how he knew her passcode.

"Good news?" Scott asked, as Laura sat on the bed.

"More photos," Luke said.

"Sounds like whoever is responsible isn't your average goon. They aren't wasting any time, and neither should you," Scott replied. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Luke shared a look with Scott that wasn't his usual hateful spite that everyone around town knew well. He handed Laura's phone to Laura.

"They've already gotten two of my children. I don't want them getting Barbara Jean or Lesley Lu or Rocco. Keep your ears to the ground and your eyes open. Can you do that?" Luke looked Scott dead in the eye, and Scott paused for only half of the time Laura imagined.

"I can do that," Scott said, nodding as an unspoken vow was exchanged. "Anything else?"

"That's it," Luke said.

"Then, I should go. Goodbye, Laura," Scott said.

"Goodbye, Scotty," Laura said. Scott left, for the first time Laura can ever remember, without a slump to his shoulders while shaking his head.

"I'm impressed," Laura said, slapping her knee before she stood. "It's always taken a lot for you to speak civilly to Scotty."

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," Luke said.

"You told him to watch out for Bobbie and Lulu and our grandson. You forgot to have him keep an eye on Tracy."

"I didn't forget," Luke said, moving towards her.

"You didn't? What does that mean?" Laura watched him sit next to her. Luke picked up the pictures, and exhaled.

"Tracy knows how to stay low when the situation calls for it. I don't have to protect her; she knows how to protect herself."

"Unlike me then," Laura said, her voice fading. She caught Luke's eye, and her guard slipped several notches before she caught herself. "Sorry, I didn't mean to go there."

Luke frowned.

"Let's focus on getting our boy back, alright? Once we know he's safe, we'll have all the time in the world to wallow in our past," he said.

"They have both of your boys."

"I know, and that raises the stakes." Luke looked to the photos. Laura reached for him, giving his forearm a gentle squeeze.

"We'll find them," she said. Luke's expression changed, as he brought one picture closer to his face than the others. "Luke?"

"Lucky and Ethan aren't the only ones they grabbed."

"But, there are only two people in the photos. Lucky and Ethan."

"Look again," Luke said, handing the photo over he had just held close to his face. Laura's eyes once again scanned the image. Her eyes focused, as Luke pointed to the space underneath his older son. "There. If you aren't looking closely, you'd miss it. Where's your phone?"

Laura handed him her phone, and Luke once again bypassed the passcode without thinking. She scanned the photo a second time, as Luke fiddled with her messages. When she couldn't spot what Luke was pointing at, she leaned towards him, looking at her phone screen.

"There," Luke said, picking the third photo Laura had been sent, a similar one to the one in Laura's hand. Once chosen, he flicked his fingers across the screen to make the photo larger. "That's an arm."

"And a bun," Laura replied, pointing to the corner of the screen, now able to see what Luke was seeing. "A red-headed bun at that. Once you see those two things, you can see that Lucky was clearly trying to shield whoever that is."

"Holly."


End file.
